Catch Up!

Well things finally have settled down for me, however, I am finding myself playing catch up! Luckily, it is Friday so I don’t mind so much as the weekend is almost here. =)

So to stay on topic let me catch you up on the past two days starting with……….

WEDNESDAY, 3/3/10

The day pretty much went the same as all my Wednesday’s, including my meals so you won’t see anything new and interesting in my daily EATS today!

One of my usual breakfasts were had this morning as you can see below.

Breakfast

Then another recent occurence was had for lunch.

Lunch

And, dinner was no be surprise either as it has been had the last few Wednesday nights.

Dinner

So if you haven’t noticed by now (if you read my blog regularly) that I often eat the same foods each week, even on the same days each week!

This is done for a few reasons:

It helps my busy schedule greatly to have a few (3-4) go to meals that I know like the back of my hand that can make quickly & easily.

I always have the ingredients for these meals on hand so I never have to worry about running to the store to pick up something for it, which can cost me wasted time in my busy schedule.

I know my family likes these dishes, even if they may get sick of having them every week.

All these dishes are extremely affordable in my VERY tight (currently one income) budget!

These meals are typically only eating during the weekdays (Monday – Friday) only as I only have a limited amount of time once I get home from work to get dinner ready each night and I try to mix it up on the weekends if possible.

Do you ever cook several of the same meals on a regular basis? And, if so why do you?

Guess I want to see if I am not alone as I sometimes get complaints from my husband & daughter about this, which makes me feel bad at times but then I realize I have to do what I have to do in order to survive in this busy world of mine!

THURSDAY, 3/4/10

Thursday was VERY BUSY as I mentioned yesterday and was shown by my lack of a post yesterday!

The day started smoothly and all but by the time I got to work it quickly revved up……….=O

Luckily, I ate at home prior to coming to work otherwise I might have had to skip breakfast all together. I had on of my recent usual again.

Breakfast

What can I say I am a creature of habit! =O However, lunch was different today as I had plans to eat with a fellow co-worker/friend of mine. We met at the Wall St. Cantina and I had their chicken & black bean taco salad with salsa ranch.

Lunch

It was as good as it looks!

The gym was hit after work today as my mom did not have OT to do so she was able to pick up my daughter for me so I could go. =) I did the following on tonight’s trip:

Sit Ups

Bicycles

3 sets of 50 reps

Flutter kicks

3 sets of 25 reps

Frog crunches

3 sets of 25 reps

Knees up crunches

3 sets of 25 reps

Sides

3 sets of 50 reps

Shoulder, Chest & Triceps

Bench Dips

3 sets of 10 reps

Lateral Raise

3 sets of 10 reps

Overhead Press

3 sets of 15 reps

Overhead Cable Triceps Extension

Missed (Machine Broken)

Plank

3, 1 minute poses

Stability Ball Leg Lift

3 sets of 5 leg lifts each side

Stability Ball Push Ups

3 sets of 15 reps

Treadmill

3 Mile Run

30:15 minutes

Mile 1 – 5.7mph to 5.8mph

Mile 2 – 5.9 mph

Mile 3 – 6.0 mph

Last 5 minutes @ 6.1mph to 7.5mph

My run was not as good as Tuesday’s but it was still good, just a bit more difficult as I started running faster earlier this time. I think I will be able to start out at 5.8mph soon and then 5.9mph soon after that and finally 6mph…….hopefully by the end of the month (fingers crossed).

Dinner wasn’t quite a meal for me tonight as I just finished off some left over chocolate pudding I had in the fridge and took a few bites of the meat spaghetti sauce I heated up for my hubby after I got home from work.

NO, not the healthiest and most satisfy meal but I just was not in the mood for much of anything nor did I want to make anything either. It just goes that way sometimes!

Do you skip dinner sometimes? If so what do you eat to hold you over until the next day?

17. Kick the soda habit. A 12-ounce soft drink has about 150 to 180 calories. If you down two or three a day, you’re getting lots of extra calories. Quench your thirst with water and save as many as 540 calories. *I have never been a big soda drinker luckily!

18. Drink sugar-free. A 20-ounce tea with added fruit juices can have 400-plus calories. And Southern-style sweet tea isn’t much better than soda: a 16-ounce bottle of syrupy sweet tea has 180 calories; three of those are 540 calories. Choose sugar-free sips and save more than 400 calories. *My two favorite drinks are water & iced tea w/sweenter!

19. Skinny up cocktails. Syrups, sour mix, sugary fruit juices, and creamy additions turn drinks into desserts: an indulgent Mudslide can have more than 800 calories. Order drinks mixed with club soda, tonic water, cranberry juice, or a squeeze of citrus; or try distilled liquors on the rocks. You’ll save up to 800 calories.

20. Eat less pasta. One cup of pasta is just 220 calories. But typical dinner portions at restaurants can be as much as 480% larger than that 1 cup, according to New York University research. That’s 1,056 calories. Even if you eat 2 whole cups of noodles, you’ll still save 616 calories. *I have been eating less “pasta” ever since I started my journey several years ago and I continue it through today!

Yeah-definitely a fan of repeat meals for the same reasons! Homemade pizza and calzones as well as chicken fajitas show up on a regular basis at my house!! I get some complaints from my husband, but not many since he knows my busy schedule. I try to make up for it on the weekends or my days off with requests that take longer to prepare.

Exactly, I do the same thing! I make homemade pizza every other Friday. Take out on the other Friday’s as my daughter has Girl Scouts that night. I haven’t made “chicken fajitas” in a bit, but I love them, how do you make them? =)

Jenny

March 6, 2010 at 8:40 pm

I use the Mojo marinade from Kroger. I cook chicken breast cut into strips in a pan with olive oil til about 1/2 way cooked then add and finish cooking in the marinade. I then add some pepper/onion combo from the freezer (get it at Kroger) and voila! Some preshred cheese and tortillas (corn for me, flour for the hubby), salsa, plain yogurt and good to go. SO EASY but a fav at our house!

Glad for tip 19! Ive been working on this issue (even in my blog today!)… I’ve thinking about trying vodka and tonic water and bringing along a 5 cal. Crystal Light packet… but not sure if I want to be that person either, lol. 🙂